Rishi Sunak has won the Conservative Party Leadership contest to become the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The former Chancellor of the Exchequer is the first non-white person in the UK’s history to become PM. Seven weeks after losing to Liz Truss, Sunak became the Tory leader as his rivals, including Penny Mordaunt and Boris Johnson, withdrew from the race.
Sunak will be the third politician to become UK PM this year after the resignation of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. His victory has also brought attention to his enormous wealth as commoners struggle with the Cost of Living Crisis. Sunak is the richest PM to head 10 Downing Street, and some sources claim he is wealthier than the Royals. It has stirred controversy that Sunak would not be able to relate with average citizens facing financial challenges as they brace for recession.
Is Rishi Sunak too Rich to be the UK PM?
The majority of Sunak’s money comes from his marriage to Akshata Murthy, the daughter of Indian billionaire Narayana Murthy, the founder of Infosys. Sunday Times Rich List 2022 placed the couple at 222nd position with a combined wealth of 750 million GBP (823 million USD). It is more than double the estimated net worth of King Charles III and Camilla, which is reportedly 350 million GBP (395 million USD). The latest PM owns 4 properties worth 15 million GBP (17 million USD) in multiple countries.
His 5-bedroom Central London abode is valued at 7 million GBP (8 million USD), according to estate agents. The couple bought a retreat manor in North Yorkshire for 1.5 million GBP (1.7 million USD) and updated it with a gym, tennis court, hot tub, and an indoor swimming pool worth 400,000 GBP (450,000 USD). Sunak faced huge criticism over this pool due to its energy costs. Reportedly, the annual cost of heating this pool is more than 14,000 GBP (16,000 USD), which is almost 6 times higher than an average family’s energy bill. Sunak also has a flat on the first floor in Kensington, London and a penthouse in California, US, overlooking the Will Rogers State Beach, famous for being the main filming location of the 90s TV show Baywatch.
Besides the lucrative marriage, Sunak also enjoyed a privileged childhood, studying at Winchester College and then attending Oxford University. However, he met his wife while on The Fulbright Scholarship Program at Standford, California, in 2006. They got married in 2009, and Rishi Sunak became the richest frontline politician in the UK. He is often criticized for flaunting his status, which makes him seem out of touch with the UK’s reality.
Colonized Becomes the Colonizer
Social media is filled with interesting reactions about Rishi Sunak as the next UK PM. There are countless jokes about Rishi’s lavish spending on clothing and accessories. Once, he faced backlash for being seen in Prada shoes worth 450 GBP (508 USD), and another time his 180 GBP (203 USD) coffee mug made the news. Jokes also compared Sunak to Indian CEOs working in Silicon Valley tech giants. When Parag Agrawal became the Twitter CEO, Indians went into fits, claiming how proud they were of their country fellow. However, now Sunak becoming the UK PM has surpassed that level of excitement. Many Indians have even raised the bar for those Indian CEOs in US firms. For them, it served as poetic justice that an Indian-origin PM would lead the UK 75 years after the end of the British Raj. There are also discussions about the prospects of Indians consequently getting visa-free entry to the UK.
Extraordinary Powers
Some historical developments have also come to notice. Interestingly, Sunak will enjoy a great deal of power that Jews and even roman Catholics can’t have in England. In the UK, the PM chooses the bishops for the Church of England from the names recommended by the Crown Nominations Commission. It allows the PM to select an official with similar political views that can help with his tenure. For example, when deceased Tory Margaret Thatcher was PM, she clashed with the nomination of one bishop who had left-leaning and liberal views. Some wonder what Sunak would do in that position.
